THE  URGENCY  AND  CRISIS 
IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


JOHN  R.  HOTT,  M.  A. 


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I'.. 


■I 


THE  URGENCY  AND  CRISIS 
IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


An  address  delivered  before  the  Student  Volunteer  Conference 
held  at  Liverpool,  England,  January  2-7,  1906 


BY  JOHN  R.  MOTT,  M.  A.,  F.  R.  G.  S. 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS  OF  THE 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 
150  FIFTH  AVENUE 
NEW  YORK 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/urgencycrisisOOmott 


The  Urgency  and  Crisis  in  the  Far  East 

The  present  urgency  and  crisis  in  the  Extreme  Orient  is 
unmatched  by  any  other  crisis  and  opportunity  which  has 
confronted  the  Christian  Church.  It  involves  the  destiny  of 
nearly  500  millions  of  people  of  Japan,  Korea,  China,  Man- 
churia, and  Mongolia.  Among  these  multitudes  massed 
around  the  Pacific  Basin,  the  force  of  youth  and  age,  of 
radicalism  and  conservatism,  of  growth  and  decay,  are  seeth- 
ing and  struggling  for  the  mastery.  What  religion  shall 
dominate  these  changing  people?  Or  shall  there  be  no  religion? 
Talk  about  crises  is  certainly  overdone,  but  will  anyone,  who 
is  familiar  with  the  facts,  question  that  the  present  is  the  time 
of  times  for  the  Far  East? 

Why  is  the  present  a time  of  urgent  and  supreme  crisis  in 
the  Extreme  Orient?  Because  of  the  recent  remarkable 
triumphs  of  Christianity  in  the  Far  East,  and  the  great  im- 
portance of  pressing  the  advantage  which  these  triumphs  afford. 
Think  of  Korea,  and  at  once  you  think  of  a nation  which 
is  now  being  swept  by  a spiritual  revival  of  national  dimen- 
sions. The  awakening  in  that  country  may  well  be  likened 
to  the  Welsh  Revival  in  point  of  pervasiveness,  power,  and 
transforming  influence.  There  is  one  body  of  Christians  in 
Korea  which,  during  the  year  preceding  the  time  I had  the 
pleasure  of  visiting  the  country  a few  months  ago,  had  nearly 
10,000  accessions.  Another  Christian  body  had  nearly  as 
many.  There  comes  vividly  to  my  memory  a scene  which 
indicated  the  eagerness  of  the  Korean  peoples  to  hear  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  Gospel  truth.  It  had  been  announced,  when  I 
visited  Seoul  recently,  that  in  Independence  Flail,  located  out- 
side the  city  wall,  commemorating  a certain  event  in  connection 


2 URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


with  the  relations  between  Korea  and  China,  there  would  be 
held  a mass  meeting  of  men  of  the  gentry  and  other  important 
classes.  These  were  to  be  admitted  by  tickets.  The  tickets 
had  been  distributed  with  care  through  the  city.  The  meeting 
was  to  convene  at  two  o’clock.  At  nine  o’clock  in  the  morning 
of  that  week-day  the  men  began  to  stream  out  beyond  the  city 
wall  to  this,  the  largest  hall  that  could  be  obtained.  By  twelve 
o’clock  every  place  in  that  hall,  which  would  accommodate 
2,500,  was  taken.  When  some  of  us,  about  two  o’clock,  drew 
near  the  place  where  the  meeting  was  to  be  held,  we  noticed 
the  landscape  lined  with  Korean  men.  We  wondered  at  it, 
because  it  was  one  of  the  bitter  cold  days  of  January.  You 
know  they  do  not  reckon  cold  over  there  by  so  many  degrees, 
but  by  so  many  coats.  Well,  this  was  a day  when  they  were 
wearing  five  coats,  and  we  could  not  understand  why  there 
were  so  many  standing  outside  in  the  piercing  cold.  When 
we  arrived  we  found  the  hall  crowded  with  2,500  men,  and 
there  were  3,500  more  outside.  We  took  possession  of  a 
Buddhist  temple,  which  was  soon  crowded  with  as  many  as 
could  enter ; but  the  larger  part  of  the  great  crowd  had  to  stay 
outside  in  the  open  air,  where  they  stood  listening  intently  during 
the  addresses  of  several  speakers.  The  meeting  in  the  hall 
lasted  some  three  and  a half  hours.  Never  have  I known 
greater  eagerness  in  attending  to  the  facts  connected  with  the 
mission  and  the  claims  of  Jesus  Christ.  Over  200  of  those 
strong  young  men  of  Korea  bowed  their  knees  that  day  for  the 
first  time  before  Jesus  Christ  the  Saviour.  This  incident  is 
indicative  of  the  moving  of  the  Spirit  of  God  amongst  the 
higher  classes  and  the  lower  classes  in  North  and  Central  and 
Southern  Korea.  The  field  is  dead  ripe!  It  is  the  last  time 
for  the  Church  to  withhold  her  hand  from  thrusting  in  the 
sickle.  One  came  away  from  Korea  with  the  strong  conviction 
that  if  the  present  attack  of  pure  Christianity  is  adequately  sus- 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


3 


tained,  Korea  will  be  the  first  non-Christian  nation  thoroughly 
evangelized  in  this  modern  foreign  missionary  epoch. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  thirty-five  years  of  missionary  history 
in  China  there  were  six  converts  to  Christianity.  The  Bishop 
of  Mid-China  told  me,  when  I was  in  China  for  the  first 
time  about  eleven  years  ago,  that  when  he  reached  China  there 
were  only  fifty  Protestant  Christian  communicants,  but  that  in 
that  year  ( 1 896)  there  were  80,000.  Now  there  are  at  least 

1 80.000,  and  some  claim  that  the  number  is  as  high  as 

250.000.  If  we  include  the  adherents  to  all  Protestant  bodies, 
the  number  would  be  swelled  to  nearly  one  million.  Dr.  Milne 
1 00  years  ago  predicted  that  in  1 00  years  there  would  be  one 
thousand  communicants  and  adherents  to  Protestant  Chris- 
tianity in  China.  Think  of  one  million,  or  1 ,000  times  as  many 
as  his  prediction  reached!  Not  only  so,  but  there  are  great 
mass  movements  shaking  parts  of  China  to-day,  and  literally 
thousands  of  people  are  being  held  back  from  baptism  because 
there  are  not  a sufficient  number  of  Christian  teachers  and 
preachers  to  follow  them  up  properly,  and  therefore,  to  make  it 
safe  and  wise  to  encourage  their  being  baptized.  This  spiritual 
movement  is  touching  not  only  the  masses,  but  likewise  the  edu- 
cated classes.  Some  of  us  had  occasion  last  spring  to  notice 
the  change  coming  over  China  in  this  respect.  Six  years  ago  it 
seemed  to  be  impossible  to  get  men  of  the  literati  and  student 
class  to  attend  evangelistic  meetings  or  to  go  to  hear  appologetic 
addresses  and  lectures.  But  a few  months  ago  we  found  that 
large  halls  and  specially-constructed  pavilions  were  invariably 
crowded  to  the  doors  by  students  and  other  influential  classes 
of  young  men.  This  proved  to  be  true  in  North  China,  in 
Mid-China  and  South  China.  Some  of  the  most  remarkable 
in-gatherings  into  the  Kingdom  of  our  Saviour  have  been  in 
connection  with  the  educated  classes  of  China.  More- 
over, we  have  had  evidence  in  recent  years  that  not  only 


4 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


numbers  are  being  reached,  but  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  devel- 
oping a type  of  Christian  in  China  which  commands  the  ad- 
miration of  the  Christians  of  the  West.  They  have  stood  firm 
against  every  wind  that  blows,  even  against  the  fiercest  blasts 
of  cruel  persecution.  They  are  now  developing  a spirit  of 
independence,  initiative,  and  leadership  which  gives  promise  of 
wonderful  advances  in  the  years  right  before  us.  The  prestige 
which  Christianity  has  acquired  in  China  in  recent  years  as  a 
result  of  the  masterly  work  of  medical  missions,  of  educational 
missions,  and  of  Christian  reform  movements  is  likewise  not 
inconsiderable. 

It  seems  incredible  that  within  the  lifetime  of  some  people  in 
this  Conference  there  were  posted  up  in  different  parts  of  Japan 
official  edicts,  offering  rewards  of  so  many  pieces  of  silver 
for  revealing  people  found  either  professing  or  propagating  the 
Christian  faith;  it  is  likewise  almost  incredible  that  there  are 
now  not  less  than  60,000  Protestant  Christian  communicants  in 
Japan.  What  means  much  more  than  that  is  the  fact  that  if 
you  were  to  talk  to-day  to  educated  leaders  of  Japan  about 
the  religion  of  that  country  they  would  mention  two  religions. 
Buddhism  and  Christianity;  but  if  they  made  any  distinction 
between  them  it  would  be  in  favor  of  Christianity.  The 
Japanese  have  developed  a spirit  of  Independent  leadership 
which  will  compare  favorably  with  that  of  the  most  aggres- 
sive and  resourceful  of  the  Christian  nations  of  the  West. 
Great  spiritual  movements  have  been  in  progress  in  that  country 
within  the  past  few  years.  Notable  among  them  is  what  has 
been  known  as  the  Taikyo  Dendo,  a revival  the  like  of  which 
one  has  seldom,  if  ever,  witnessed.  This  revival  touched  all 
strata  of  society,  and  swept  throughout  the  Japanese  islands. 
The  most  striking  thing  about  it  was  that  it  was  carried  on 
so  largely  under  Japanese  leadership.  There  have  been  two 
events  within  the  past  few  months  that  should  in  themselves 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


5 


startle  us  because  of  their  significance.  One  was  the  notable 
campaign,  waged  amongst  750,000  Japanese  soldiers.  One 
of  the  oldest  missionaries  of  Japan  said  to  me  that  in  his 
judgment  the  Gospel  was  preached  with  fulness  and  power  to 
more  of  the  vigorous  and  aggressive  classes  of  men  of  Japan 
over  there  on  the  Manchurian  plains,  during  the  Russian  War, 
than  during  the  same  period  by  all  the  missionaries  working 
in  Japan.  The  other  event  was  the  World’s  Student  Christian 
Federation  Conference  in  April,  1907,  and  the  associated  evan- 
gelistic campaign  which  have  done  so  much  to  arrest  the  attention 
and  awaken  the  spirit  of  inquiry  among  the  educated  and 
influential  classes  of  the  Japanese  Empire.  I am  receiving 
constantly  letters  from  the  missionaries  from  different  parts  of 
Japan  telling  me  that  that  united  effort  on  the  part  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  universities  of  the  Orient  and  Occident  to 
present  the  claims  of  Christ,  has  wonderfully  opened  the  doors 
and  hastened  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  bringing  Christ 
to  bear  upon  the  influential  classes.  God  only  knov/s  the 
end  of  that  great  movement  of  His  Spirit  during  those  days. 
I do  not  think  that  that  Chinese  missionary  exaggerated  when 
he  said  that  it  was  possibly  the  greatest  single  blow  ever  struck 
by  united  Christianity  at  the  non-Christian  world. 

Let  us  bear  in  mind  what  a mighty  work  of  God  in  Japan 
makes  possible  on  the  mainland  of  Asia.  At  the  Student  Vol- 
unteer Convention  at  Nashville  in  1 906,  we  received  a cable 
message  from  the  leaders  of  the  Christian  Student  Movement 
of  Japan,  couched  in  this  language:  “Japan  is  leading  the 
Orient,  but  whither?”  It  is  a striking  message.  Certainly 
Japan  is  leading  the  Orient!  She  is  doing  it  commercially,  and 
it  cannot  be  prevented.  Only  to-day  one  of  your  number  was 
calling  my  attention  to  the  statement  in  connection  with  the 
P.  and  O.  Steamship  Company,  that  they  have  contemplated 
taking  off  the  line  of  steamers  sailing  to  Japan,  giving  as  the 


6 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


main  reason  the  fact  that  the  Japanese  have  cut  them  out  in 
that  trade.  They  are  doing  the  same  with  the  American  trade 
and  with  the  German  trade.  They  are  leading  the  Orient 
politically.  Japan  has  become  the  dominant  political  influence 
in  Asia.  She  has  been  gifted  with  a wonderful  international 
sense.  She  is  leading  the  Orient  educationally.  At  the  present 
time  there  are  not  less  than  1 ,000  Japanese  teachers  at  work 
in  all  parts  of  China.  While  the  Occident  has  been  rubbing 
her  eyes  concerning  this  opportunity,  Japan  has  seen  it  and 
seized  it.  Moreover,  she  has  been  welcoming  within  her  doors 
the  flower  of  Chinese  youth.  Our  hearts  have  been  touched 
by  the  appeal  of  Dr.  Datta'  this  evening  concerning  Indian 
students  in  Britain.  But  possibly  we  have  not  been  aware  of 
the  fact  there  are  also  scores  of  Indian  students  in  Tokyo. 
One  day  last  spring  when  I was  there,  I was  invited  to  attend 
a meeting  of  the  Arya  Somaj.  There  are  nearly  700  Korean 
students  there,  also  not  a few  students  from  the  Philippines  and 
Siam.  There  have  been  as  many  as  15,000  students  there  at 
one  time  from  China.  Without  doubt  Japan  is  leading  the 
Orient  educationally.  She  knows  she  is  leading  it,  and  she 
feels  the  burden  of  responsibility.  I was  reading  the  other 
day  the  translation  of  the  titles  of  some  articles  in  Japanese 
magazines.  Note  some  of  them:  “Japan  must  take  the  leading 
place  in  developing  Manchuria.”  “Japan’s  safety  lies  in  the 
regeneration  of  China.”  “Japan’s  present  position  in  China 
is  the  outcome  of  persevering  effort  during  the  past  forty  years.” 
“It  is  Japan’s  duty  to  free  Korea  from  the  misrule  of  the 
past  and  lead  her  toward  modern  enlightenment.”  “Japan 
is  the  prophet  of  the  Eastern  World.”  “Japan  has  a message 
for  India.”  These  are  titles  taken  at  random  from  some  of  the 


A recent  graduate  in  medicine  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh ; one  of  the  secretaries  of 
llic  student  movement  of  Great  Britain. 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


7 


leading  magazines  appearing  in  Japan.  They  reveal  the  sense 
of  responsibility  that  Japan  feels  toward  the  Eastern  world. 

When  I returned  from  the  Far  East  six  years  ago  I could 
not  say  what  I now  can  with  great  conviction,  namely,  that  if 
some  great  catastrophe  to-morrow  made  it  necessary  for  all  the 
missionaries  to  withdraw  from  Asia,  Christianity  is  so  securely 
planted  in  the  lives  of  the  Orientals  that  it  would  spread  from 
them  to  all  parts  of  the  East;  and  were  Christianity  to  die  out 
in  the  Occident,  in  my  judgment  it  has  such  propagating  power 
in  Asia  that  it  would  ultimately  spread  back  to  us.  This  is 
what  we  ought  to  expect  if  Christ  is  living  in  these  Eastern 
peoples.  It  is  inconceivable  that  He  be  pent  up  and  not  reach 
out  until  at  last  He  encompass  every  man.  Believe  me,  the 
spiritual  tide  is  rising  in  the  Far  East,  and  it  is  always  wise 
to  take  advantage  of  a rising  tide. 

It  is  a time  of  supreme  crisis  in  the  Far  East,  not  only 
because  of  the  triumphs  of  Christianity  and  the  desirability  of 
pressing  the  advantages  which  these  triumphs  afford,  but  also 
because  of  the  stupendous  changes  now  in  progress  in  that 
Far  Eastern  world,  especially  on  the  mainland  of  Asia;  and  the 
great  desirability  of  Christianity  bringing  its  full  influence  to 
bear  while  the  conditions  are  still  plastic. 

Japan  is  the  most  brilliant  nation  in  the  world.  She  has 
achieved  greater  progress  in  one  generation  than  any  other 
nation  has  achieved  in  two,  if  not  in  three,  generations.  She 
has  gone  to  school  to  the  whole  world,  and  has  learned  her 
lessons  with  remarkable  facility.  Seldom  does  a man  find 
himself  upon  an  ocean  steamer  that  he  does  not  find  among 
his  fellow-passengers  one  or  more  Japanese — not  cruising  about 
the  world  in  search  of  pleasure,  but  journeying  with  serious 
intent  to  study  some  institution,  some  process,  or  some  ex- 
perience of  some  other  nation  or  people,  determined,  in  turn, 
to  make  this  knowledge  tributary  to  the  national  greatness  of 


8 URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  nation  they  love  with  an  almost  insane  patriotism.  And 
they  have  not  ceased  to  go  to  school.  People  thought  that  when 
they  won  their  great  victory  over  Russia  they  would  lose  their 
heads.  I have  formed  the  impression,  in  conversation  with 
their  leaders,  that  this  victory  has  humbled  and  solemnized  them. 
They  have  not  ceased  going  to  school;  they  have  not  relaxed 
their  intensity  of  application  to  learn.  The  reason  I say  this 
now  is  to  protest  against  the  impression  that  prevails  in  some 
quarters  that  Japan  at  last  is  set;  that  it  is  too  late  to  influence 
Japan;  that  the  time  of  crisis  for  Japan  has  passed.  It  may 
have  partially  passed,  but  it  has  not  wholly  passed.  Japan  is 
still  fairly  vibrating  with  modern  life.  She  has  adjusted  her- 
self with  great  facility  and  rapidity  to  new  ideas.  It  is  not 
too  late  to  change  Japan.  In  face  of  the  great  peril  of  Japan 
— that  of  materialism — how  urgently  important  it  is  that  the 
Christian  Church  realize  this.  Japan  is  leading  the  Orient, 
but  whither?  Is  it  to  be  into  paths  of  militarism,  mercantilism, 
and  gross  materialism,  or  shall  Christianity  bring  her  full  in- 
fluence to  bear  upon  Japan  and  cause  Japan  to  exert  a truly 
altruistic  influence?  The  place  to  bring  power  to  bear  is  at 
the  point  where  power  can  be  most  widely  distributed:  and 
surely,  so  far  as  the  Far  East  is  concerned,  Japan  is  that  place. 

I shall  not  linger  upon  the  changes  that  are  coming  over 
Korea.  Suffice  it  to  ask,  where  are  there  ten  millions  of  people 
in  the  world  to-day  upon  whom  the  currents  of  modern  life 
have  been  turned  more  abruptly,  and  with  greater  directness 
and  power,  than  upon  the  Korean  people  since  the  Russian 
War?  Since  that  v/ar,  railways  have  been  stretched  across  the 
v/hole  of  Korea ; there  is  being  forced  upon  the  people  a system 
of  modern  education;  the  Emperor  is  deposed;  the  government 
is  being  completely  re-organized ; a new  system  of  finance 
introduced;  countless  social,  political,  and  other  changes  are 
being  effected.  Has  there  been  a case  in  the  history  of  nations 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


9 


where  one  country  in  so  short  a time  has  had  to  face  and  adjust 
herself  to  so  much  that  is  modern?  The  present  is  the  time  of 
times  to  impress  Korea  with  Christian  truth  and  spirit. 

Next  we  come  to  China;  and  there  we  see  the  most  mar- 
velous changes.  China  has  made  greater  progress  in  the 
last  five  years  than  any  other  country  of  the  world.  She  has 
made  a more  radical  adjustment  to  modern  conditions  than  has 
any  other  nation  in  the  same  period  of  time.  Those  who  have 
studied  the  great  changes  that  came  over  Japan  will  remember 
that  Japan  made  no  such  change  in  the  first  five  years  as 
China  has  made  in  her  first  five  years  of  facing  the  West. 
Sir  Robert  Hart,  that  sagacious  observer  of  things  Chinese, 
in  commenting  on  the  recent  changes  in  China,  said:  “During 
the  first  forty-five  years  of  my  residence  in  China,  the  country 
was  like  a closed  room,  without  a breath  of  fresh  air  from 
the  outside  world.  She  was  not  in  the  least  conscious  of  the 
existence  of  outside  nations.  During  the  past  five  years  breezes 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  have  been  blowing  through  China.” 
Dr.  Griffith  John,  that  Nestor  of  China  missionaries,  before  he 
started  back  to  China,  said  to  me  that  if  there  had  been 
associated  with  the  changes  in  China  the  bloodshed  which  has 
characterized  the  recent  changes  in  Russia,  the  eyes  of  the 
civilized  world  would  have  been  focussed  upon  her,  and  noth- 
ing would  keep  back  the  nations  from  going  to  her  relief.  What 
are  some  of  these  changes?  Eleven  years  ago  I found  200 
miles  of  railway  in  China.  Now  I am  told  there  are  3,700, 
and,  in  addition,  1 ,600  miles  building,  and  4,000  miles  more 
projected.  Eleven  years  ago  there  were  just  a few  telegraph 
wires;  now  a network  covers  all  the  provinces.  Only  a few 
years  ago  not  one  modern  post-office;  now  there  are  2,500 
post-offices,  and  an  average  of  one  new  one  being  added  every 
day.  Ten  years  ago,  there  was  only  one  daily  paper  in  Peking, 


10 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


the  Peking  Gazette,  and  it  was  devoted  to  publishing  the  edicts 
of  the  Imperial  Government;  now  there  are  ten  dailies  there. 
One  of  them  is  a women’s  daily.  Besides  these  there  are 
papers  published  in  the  other  cities  throughout  China,  and  they 
give  news  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  printing  presses, 
secular  and  religious,  are  not  able  to  keep  pace  with  the  de- 
mand upon  them  in  the  printing  of  the  translations  of  Western 
works  about  various  phases  of  our  civilization,  development, 
and  history.  The  anti-opium  crusade  is  now  being  waged 
with  vigor.  The  practice  of  foot-binding  is  being  broken  up. 
It  has  been  decreed  that  China  shall  have  constitutional  govern- 
ment after  a few  years  of  preparatory  work.  These  changes 
seem  almost  unthinkable  when  we  pause  to  reflect  on  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Chinese  mind,  on  its  unchanging  attitude  through 
centuries. 

But  the  greatest  changes  in  China  are  those  pertaining  to 
education.  She  has  sent  Imperial  Commissions  to  Europe  and 
America — not  as  a matter  of  courtesy,  not  as  a matter  of 
curiosity,  but  to  learn  with  a view  to  going  back  to  China  to 
bring  about  changes.  They  have  since  shown  by  their  works 
that  they  are  carrying  out  their  intention.  Chinese  students 
are  being  sent  in  increasing  numbers  to  the  Occident.  I esti- 
mate that  we  now  have  possibly  as  many  as  1 ,000  Chinese 
students  in  the  universities  of  North  America  and  Europe.  I 
wish  you  would  let  the  appeal  of  Dr.  Datta,  on  behalf  of 
the  Indians,  be  widened  to  embrace  all  the  Chinese  students 
now  studying  in  the  West.  When  we  recall  what  it  has 
meant  to  Christianity  that  the  first  Japanese  students  who  came 
to  the  Occident  were  befriended,  we  shall  recognize  the  de- 
sirability of  our  making  friends  with  every  Chinese  student  who 
comes  amongst  us.  Let  us  Christianize  as  many  of  them  as 
possible;  let  us  neutralize  all  the  others — that  is,  so  influence 
them  that  none  of  them  will  return  to  China  antagonistic  to 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


II 


Chrisitanity.  This  will  be  highly  multiplying  work.  Let  me 
reiterate  that  China  is  also  sending  students  to  Japan.  This 
has  come  about  largely  within  the  past  two  or  three  years. 
As  recently  as  April  there  were  15,000  of  them  in  Tokyo. 
It  may  interest  you  to  know  that  650  of  that  number  came 
from  the  Szechwan  Province  of  Western  China,  before  the 
gates  of  Tibet.  To  go  from  there  to  Tokyo  involves  a journey 
of  eight  weeks,  or  the  equivalent  in  time  of  going  round 
the  world  to  get  to  college!  Fully  1,250  of  them  came  from 
the  exclusive  province  of  Hunan.  That  was  the  last  province 
to  let  the  missionaries  in,  and  that  within  a decade.  And 
more  recently  still,  it  was  resisting  the  introduction  of  the  tele- 
graph. Yet  now  this  most  reactionary  province  is  represented 
by  a larger  number  of  young  men  in  Japan  than  is  any  other 
province  in  China.  Think  of  it,  15,000  young  men  coming 
out  of  the  proudest  nation  under  heaven!  the  most  secluded 
nation  in  the  world,  well  called  the  Walled  Kingdom,  to  sit 
at  the  feet  of  their  conqueror!  Is  this  not  something  abso- 
lutely unique?  Where  has  there  ever  been  a parallel?  Is  it 
not  indicative  of  a most  striking  change? 

Then  we  find  the  most  wonderful  of  these  educational 
changes  has  been  the  blotting  out  more  than  a year  ago,  by 
one  stroke,  the  old  curriculum  of  studies,  and  the  substitution 
of  Western  learning  in  the  examinations  for  the  Civil  Service. 
This  has  been  followed  by  the  springing  up,  like  mushrooms, 
all  over  China,  of  modern  colleges  and  high  schools.  Yuan 
Shih-kai,  Chang  Chih-tung  and  Tuan  Fang,  three  of  the  most 
enlightened  viceroys,  have  been  leading  off  in  this  educational 
reform,  and  others  have  been  following.  In  the  province  of 
Chihli  alone  there  are  already  3,000  modern  schools,  with  over 
30,000  students.  This  is  a development  of  a few  years. 
TTiere  are,  literally,  not  hundreds,  but  thousands  of  these  mod- 
ern schools  and  colleges  which  have  been  started  throughout 


12 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


China.  Manifestly  they  are  not  being  properly  led.  It  is  an 
interesting  example  of  the  blind  leading  the  blind.  They  are 
doing  exceedingly  superficial  work.  Take  theilr  work  in  the 
English  language.  I had  occasion  to  look  into  it,  and  in 
some-  places  found  that  they  are  not  teaching  sentences  but 
isolated  words.  Someone  pointed  out  to  us  that,  in  one  case, 
they  were  advertising  they  would  teach  English  up  to  the  letter 
G.  Not  only  is  this  work  superficial,  but  it  is  carried  on  with- 
out rigid  and  thorough  discipline,  and  you  know  that  would 
cause  bad  results  in  any  country.  Many  mistakes  will  be 
made,  much  money  will  be  wasted,  and  there  will  be  many  dis- 
appointments. But  mark  my  word,  this  movement  will  never 
cease.  China  has  determined  to  have  the  modern  education. 
She  has  made  up  her  mind  to  give  her  millions  of  youth  West- 
ern advantages.  Yes,  there  will  be  millions,  literally.  Japan 
now  has  over  5,500,000  of  her  youth  in  schools.  The  same 
proportion  will  some  day  give  China  over  50,000,000.  The 
day  is  coming,  and  very  soon,  when  China  will  have  more  stu- 
dents than  any  other  nation  of  the  world. 

China  is  in  the  midst  of  an  intellectual  revolution.  It  is 
not  yet  a religious  revolution:  but  it  may  become  so.  At 
present  her  education  is  purely  utilitarian.  Why  does  China 
want  Western  education?  Solely  that  she  may  acquire  the 
military,  naval,  industrial  and  financial  power  of  the  West. 
That  is  her  deliberate  and  practical  purpose.  May  God  help 
us  to  infuse  China  with  Christian  thought,  Christian  spirit, 
Christian  influence?  The  next  ten  years  are  packed  with  pos- 
sibilities. How  we  should  strengthen  the  educational  missionary 
establishment  in  China!  How  we  should  seek  indirectly,  as 
well  as  directly,  to  influence  the  character  of  the  Government 
and  gentry  schools!  China  and  Korea  are  still  in  a fluid  or 
plastic  condition;  they  are  not  yet  set  or  crystalized.  It  is 
for  Christianity,  largely,  to  say  whether  they  shall  set  in 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


13 


Christian  moulds  or  materialistic  moulds.  Japan  sees  it. 
whether  we  do  or  not;  and,  unhappily,  her  influence  is  going 
to  be  materialistic,  excepting  that  of  her  Christian  Church.  I 
do  not  know  how  it  impresses  you,  but  I am  overwhelmed  as 
I think  of  this  Chinese  educational  opportunity,  and  of  the 
changes  in  China.  When,  in  the  history  of  the  human  race, 
have  such  vast  numbers  of  people  been  undergoing  such  radical 
changes?  I believe  that  we  are  going  to  see  reproduced  in 
China,  during  the  next  fifteen  years,  on  a colossal  scale  what 
has  actually  taken  place  in  Japan  during  the  past  thirty  years. 
Religion  is  the  most  fundamental  thing  in  civilization.  If  a 
race  with  the  traits  of  the  Chinese  determine  on  a certain  atti- 
tude toward  religion,  the  danger  is  that  they  may  not  change 
again  for  a thousand  years.  The  last  thing  about  the  Chinese 
is  vacillation.  I was  talking  to  a leading  Japanese  delegate 
yesterday,  and  he  agreed  with  me  that  what  lent  intense  im- 
portance to  the  crisis  was  the  fact  that  when  the  Chinese  once 
settle  this  question  they  will  not  re-open  it.  The  danger  is  that 
Christianity  will  not  realize  this  sufficiently,  and  therefore  will 
fail  to  pour  in  her  full  strength  in  time. 

Why  is  it  a time  of  supreme  crisis  in  the  Far  East?  Not 
only  for  the  two  reasons  I have  named,  but  also  because  of 
the  rising  spirit  of  nationalism  and  of  race  patriotism.  Mis- 
sions have  had  to  reckon  with  this  in  Japan  from  the  very 
beginning.  May  there  not  have  been  a Providence  in  it?  For 
has  it  not  made  us  wiser  to  deal  with  other  races?  May  the 
lesson  not  be  lost!  We  have  heard  most  suggestive  and  con- 
vincing things  concerning  the  rising  national  spirit  in  India. 
Allow  me,  as  an  outsider,  to  say  that  it  is  to  the  infinite  credit 
of  Britain  that  she  has  made  possible  the  very  development  of 
that  spirit.  Some  do  not  realize  that  in  the  Philippine  Islands, 
and  in  Siam,  the  same  national  spirit  has  asserted  itself.  The 
spirit  of  nationalism  is  also  moving  in  Korea,  and  the  hope- 


14  URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


lessness  of  their  situation  lends  an  element  of  real  pathos.  But 
in  China  one  finds  the  most  marked  example  of  growing  con- 
sciousness of  nationality,  and  of  a desire  to  acquire  national 
independence  and  power.  Among  the  causes  are  the  spread 
of  railways,  thus  knitting  the  country  together,  and  the  work 
of  Christian  missions  with  their  unifying  influence.  Other 
causes  have  been  the  last  three  wars  in  the  Far  East,  and  the 
return  of  the  Chinese  students  from  Tokyo,  with  their  hearts 
burning  because  of  what  they  have  learnt  of  the  opium  war 
with  England,  of  the  unjust  exclusion  acts  of  America  and 
Australia,  of  the  seizing  of  their  territory  by  Russia,  Germany, 
France,  and  Japan,  and  of  the  building  in  their  own  capital 
city  of  legations,  which  remind  one  of  great  fortresses  stocked 
with  munitions  of  war  and  manned  with  foreign  troops.  Put 
yourself  in  the  place  of  an  ambitious  Chinese  student,  and  under 
such  conditions  would  not  the  national  spirit  assert  itself  in 
you?  How  do  we  find  it  exhibiting  itself?  In  the  many 
articles  bearing  on  the  subject  which  have  been  written  by  the 
Chinese;  in  frequent  references  to  “our  country”  in  periodicals 
and  speeches;  in  the  use  of  the  Chinese  flag  on  modern  school - 
buildings;  in  the  singing  of  patriotic  songs  in  the  schools — 
all  this  would  have  seemed  increditable  ten  years  ago  in  China 
outside  the  mission  schools;  in  the  societies  organized  to  study 
how  to  prepare  a national  constitution;  in  the  boycott  against 
American  and  other  foreign  goods;  in  the  anti-opium  crusade; 
in  the  creation  of  a modern  army — they  have  now  under  mod- 
ern drill  in  two  provinces  1 50,000  troops. 

Speaking  of  the  new  army  in  China  reminds  me  of  an 
essay  that  a Chinese  student  wrote.  In  speaking  of  the  grow- 
ing military  power  of  China,  he  said:  “We  are  first  going  to 
conquer  Japan;  next  we  are  going  to  conquer  Russia;  next  we 
shall  conquer  the  whole  world,  and  then  take  our  place  as 
the  Middle  Kingdom.”  He  was  very  much  in  earnest. 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


15 


There  is  not  only  this  rising  national  spirit,  but  also  what 
I am  pleased  to  call  the  spirit  of  racial  patriotism.  Lord 
Salisbury  maintained  that  there  is  such  a thing  as  race-pa- 
triotism. The  cry  is  spreading  over  Asia:  “Asia  for  the 
Asiatics!”  We  can  no  more  resist,  even  if  we  would,  this 
rising  national  and  Oriental  feeling,  than  we  can  resist  the 
tides  of  the  sea.  But  we  would  not  resist  it.  We  remember 
the  nation  and  the  race  are  as  much  the  creation  of  God  as 
is  the  family.  We  remember  these  mighty  powers  are  to  be 
allied  with  Christianity,  and  never  placed  in  antagonism  to  it. 
What  has  it  not  meant  in  Japan  that  from  the  beginning  pa- 
triotism was  associated  with  Christianity?  And  what  will  it 
not  mean  in  the  other  Eastern  countries?  We  do  not  know 
when  we  may  be  put  out  of  China.  Even  if  we  are  not  put 
out  some  of  us  believe  that  within  ten  years  the  Chinese  Chris- 
tians may  take  things  into  their  own  hands.  Some  of  us  believe 
that  in  twenty  years  there  will  not  be  a demand  for  many 
more  new  missionaries  in  China.  We  may  be  wrong,  but 
unless  the  signs  fail  that  one  studies  in  Japan,  and  that  one 
even  now  traces  among  the  Chinese  people,  this  is  likely  to  be 
true.  The  next  five  years  mean  vastly  more  than  the  fifteen 
years  which  will  follow  the  next  five  years.  May  Christendom 
assert  herself  in  answer  to  the  wishes  of  her  Lord  and  evan- 
gelize, while  there  is  yet  time  the  unevangelized  parts  of  the 
mainland  of  Asia,  and  above  all  may  we  devote  large  attention 
to  raising  up,  training,  and  energizing  the  native  leadership  of 
the  Chinese  Church! 

If  I were  to  mention  another  reason  why  this  is  a time 
of  supreme  crisis,  it  would  be  because  of  the  grave  and  even 
disastrous  reflex  Influence  upon  the  Church  in  the  West,  of 
failure  to  improve  the  unparalleled  opportunity  in  the  East. 
I confess  to-night  that  my  anxiety  is  not  lest  there  be  a great 
awakening  in  the  East,  but  lest  there  may  not  be  a corre- 


16  URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


spending  awakening  of  the  Church  in  the  West.  I am  bur- 
dened with  the  sense  of  solicitude  lest  the  Western  Christians 
may  not  see  this  door — this  great  and  effectual  door.  You 
ask  what  will  follow  if  they  do  not  see  and  enter  it?  One 
result  will  be  that  we  will  become  callous  and  hardened,  and 
unresponsive  to  the  moving  of  the  Living  Spirit.  It  is  a law 
of  our  nature  that  if  we  do  not  respond  it  becomes  more  diffi- 
cult to  move  us  the  next  time.  What  could  God  do,  if  it 
is  not  irreverent  to  ask  that  question,  what  could  God  do  that 
would  likely  appeal  to  us  more  than  what  He  is  now  doing 
in  the  East?  There  is  something  startling  in  the  thought  that  we 
may  pass  into  such  a state  that  even  the  moving  of  the  Living 
Spirit  may  not  deeply  touch  us.  Another  serious  result  which 
will  follow,  will  be  widespread  hypocrisy.  To  know  duty  and 
do  it  not  is  hypocrisy,  and  that  is  also  sin.  The  startling  thing 
about  hypocrisy  is  that  it  not  only  damages  our  character  and 
destroys  confidence  in  our  religion  on  the  part  of  those  outside 
the  Church,  but  condemns  to  outer  darkness  millions  who,  but 
for  our  sham  profession,  would  be  ushered,  into  His  marvellous 
light.  Another  alarming  consequence  will  be  that,  failing  to 
become  conductors  of  His  truth,  we  shall  cease  to  be  con- 
ductors of  His  power.  That  will  result  in  the  grave  peril  that 
we  shall  become  incapacitated  for  dealing  strongly  and  effect- 
ively with  the  tasks  at  our  own  doors.  May  something  move 
us!  May  someone  more  us,  and  save  us  from  the  perils  of 
luxury,  of  selfishness,  and  of  ease;  call  out  the  best  energies 
of  our  minds  and  hearts,  and  stir  us  to  act  in  line  with  the 
indication  of  the  Holy  Ghost! 

What  can  we  do  to  meet  this  supreme  crisis  in  the  Far 
East?  There  should  be  a masterly  and  united  policy  on  the 
part  of  the  missionary  leaders  of  Europe  and  North  America, 
with  reference  to  facing  this  great  question.  The  time  has  come 
— has  it  not? — when  we  should  come  together,  not  simply  to 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


17 


congratulate  and  criticise  one  another,  or  to  exhort  one  another, 
or  to  educate  one  another,  but  to  face  these  great  crises,  to 
study  how  they  are  to  be  met,  and  how  better  to  co-ordinate 
our  forces  and  to  introduce  practical  means  of  co-operation 
and  federation.  Our  statesmanship  should  be  characterised  by 
comprehension.  We  should  face  the  whole  field,  and  not 
simply  take  it  up  in  parts.  We  should  face  our  whole  gen- 
eration, and  not  merely  grapple  with  emergencies.  We  should 
face  the  whole  range  of  missionary  purpose.  We  should  pay 
due  regard  to  the  principles  of  strategy  with  reference  to  places, 
to  classes,  to  times,  to  methods. 

There  should  be  prompt  and  vigorous  development  of  the 
great  and  comparatively  latent  resources  of  our  Western 
Churches,  the  laymen  and  the  young  people.  Then  we  shall 
have  all  the  money  needed.  Then  we  shall  have  faithful  in- 
tercession on  the  part  of  many  Christians.  There  is  a striking 
Providence  in  the  fact  that,  just  as  these  wonderful  doors 
have  been  opened  in  the  Far  East,  the  Holy  Spirit  has  been 
calling  into  being  the  Young  People’s  Missionary  Movement 
and  the  Laymen’s  Missionary  Movement.  These  two  Move- 
ments constitute  the  complement  to  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement.  They  are  essential  to  it,  and  it  is  essential  to 
them  if  this  Eastern  crisis  is  to  be  successfully  met,  and  if 
the  world  is  to  be  evangelized  in  our  day.  Our  Watchword 
— “The  Evangelization  of  the  World  in  this  Generation” — 
should  be  made  a commanding  reality  in  the  life  of  every 
Christian  in  this  Conference,  and  through  us  in  the  lives  of 
Christians  generally.  I am  glad  to  say  that  the  leaders  of 
the  North  American  Student  Volunteer  Movement  stand  ab- 
solutely at  one  with  the  leaders  of  the  British  Movement,  in 
their  interpretation  of  this  Watchword;  and  our  hope  is  that 
the  leaders  of  the  Continental  student  movements  will  soon 


18 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


join  us  in  holding  up  this  great  ideal.  We  are  united  in  repu- 
diating the  idea  of  reducing  the  realization  of  this  great  ideal 
to  mere  numerical  terms.  Let  us  keep  it  as  an  ideal;  and  let 
us  translate  it  into  terms  of  self-denial.  For  the  Watchword 
must  be  not  only  regarded  as  an  ideal,  but  must  also  be  worked 
out  in  action.  This  is  a truth,  not  only  to  be  contemplated, 
and  to  stir  us,  but  also  to  be  done.  Whether  or  not  the  Watch- 
word is  needed  for  any  other  part  of  the  world,  it  is  certainly 
needed  for  the  Far  East,  because  whatever  we  wish  to  do  in 
the  Far  East  must  be  done  in  this  generation. 

God  help  us  so  to  work,  and  so  to  plan,  not  as  though  we 
had  two  or  more  generations  in  which  to  do  the  work,  but  as 
though  we  had  but  one ; or,  it  may  be,  but  part  of  one. 

There  must  be  far  larger  and  more  heroic  dedication  of 
lives  to  the  work  of  evangelizing  the  world  and  establishing 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  if  the  crisis  in  the  Extreme  Orient  is 
to  be  met.  There  is  need,  and  that  immediately  and  impera- 
tively, of  a great  army  of  workers.  Great  as  is  the  need  for 
more  young  men  of  ability  in  our  universities,  to  give  them- 
selves to  the  work  of  the  Christian  ministry,  even  greater  is 
the  need  for  a large  number  of  the  very  best  students  of  Europe 
and  America  to  go  as  missionaries  to  the  Far  East.  They  are 
needed  to  press  into  unevangelized  regions.  They  are  needed 
to  protect  our  present  investment  of  lives,  and  to  make  them 
most  highly  productive.  They  are  needed  to  dominate  the 
educational  standards  of  the  East  by  sheer  force  of  merit, 
efficiency,  and  spirituality.  Above  all,  they  are  needed  to 
enlist,  train,  lead  and  inspire  a host  of  native  Christian  preach- 
ers and  teachers.  But,  let  it  be  emphasized,  they  must  be  men 
and  women  of  ability,  as  well  as  of  courage,  character  and 
consecration.  This  is  vastly  more  important  than  numbers. 
We  need  those  who  will  be  statesmen.  We  need  those  with 
power  to  lead  and  inspire.  We  must  have  the  pick  of  the 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


19 


universities,  if  they  are  to  guide  and  mould  the  leaders  of  the 
new  Far  East.  I do  not  forget  that  God  will  take  some  who 
are  not  thus  conspicuously  strong,  and  will  use  them  to  confound 
the  mighty.  Japan  had  killed,  wounded  and  diseased  in  the 
late  war  457,000  men,  in  the  supreme  effort  to  preserve  the 
balance  in  the  Far  East.  The  Japanese  willingly  laid  down 
tens  of  thousands  of  lives  to  capture  one  position  in  the  Liao- 
tung Peninsula.  “Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of 
Thy  power.”  Is  not  this  a day  of  His  power?  Is  He  not 
shaking  the  nations?  At  such  a time  can  we  withhold  our 
co-operation? 

God  the  Holy  Ghost  must  be  honored  in  this  great  enter- 
prise. We  must  bow  ourselves  in  reverence  before  Him.  In 
our  Creed  we  say:  “I  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty.  . . 

I believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost.”  Therefore  let  us  be  consistent, 
let  us  be  logical,  let  us  be  genuine,  and  so  work  and  speak, 
so  pray  and  act,  as  those  should  who  have  professed  faith  in 
a superhuman  religion.  The  ground  of  our  hope  and  confi- 
dence in  meeting  this  Eastern  crisis  rests  not  chiefly  upon  the 
strength  and  extent  of  the  missionary  establishment,  not  upon 
the  number  and  power  of  the  missionaries,  not  upon  the  meth- 
ods and  agencies  evolved  through  generations  of  experience, 
not  upon  the  brilliancy  of  the  leadership  of  our  forces,  not 
upon  the  fulness  of  the  treasury,  not  upon  statesmanlike  policies 
and  plans,  and  the  skill  of  our  stategists,  not  upon  watch- 
words and  inspiring  forward  movements — not  chiefly  upon 
these  things,  but  upon  the  fact  that  the  great  God  is  still 
pleased  to  visit  men  and  women  that  are  pure  and  humble  and 
obedient  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  Whom  God  hath  given  to  them 
that  ofieij  Him,  Therefore,  let  us  turn  from  the  crisis  in  the 
Far  East,  and  face  the  crisis  in  our  own  lives.  Are  we 
willing  to  yield  ourselves  absolutely,  unconditionally  to  the 


20 


URGENCY  AND  CRISIS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 


sway  of  Christ,  to  do  His  will  and  not  our  own?  Each  one 
of  us  has  this  infinitely  potential,  this  awfully  solemn  power  of 
choice.  May  we  not  be  found  wanting,  but  be  true  in  the 
exercise  of  the  highest  office  of  the  human  will. 

*'  Our  wills  are  ours  we  know  not  how, 

Our  wills  are  ours  to  make  them  Thine!  ” 


The  price  of  this  pamphlet  is  5 cents  pet  copy,  40  cents  per  dozen,  $2.50 
pet  hundred,  express  charges  prepaid. 


